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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: prune · band · degree · capital · cell · ball · bowl · patient

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. degree — temperature
  5. cell — a phone
  6. ball — a great time
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. cell — in biology
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. band — a music group
  14. capital — money
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. ball — a dance
  17. capital — a city
  18. band — a ring
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. prune — to trim
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. degree — an amount

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com